How An Affiliate Marketing Program Works And Why You Need One    Welcome to episode 35 of The Marketing Umbrella with Itamar Shafir. This week Itamar sits down with Arlen Robinson and they do a deep dive into what affiliate programs are and how affiliate marketing software can help companies and agencies grow their customer base.   Arlen Robinson is a seasoned business owner and co-founder of Omnistar Affiliate Software which gives businesses the opportunity to setup and manage their own affiliate and customer referral programs. With over 20 years of experience managing and running various aspects of the company, Arlen has a wealth of information that he can share. His current responsibilities involve leading all business development activities for the company as well has hosting a Weekly podcast known as the Ecommerce Marketing Podcast in which he interviews various marketing experts about successful ecommerce marketing strategies.     Here is what to expect on this week’s show: ·        A bit about Arlen’s background, who is the first affiliate expert to be on the show. ·        The impetus behind the creation of Arlen’s affiliate marketing software. ·        The basics of how an affiliate programs works to improve a company’s ability to find new customers. ·        How the size of a company interacts with their need of an affiliate program (hint: most need to use one!). ·        Who pays all these affiliates, who tracks it, how is all of this managed? ·        How can a marketing agency, as opposed to a traditional company, use an affiliate program to grow their business? ·        Some of the initial fees that can be involved to join other already established affiliate networks, and how the commission system can then work afterwards. ·        How does an affiliate marketing program work for offline businesses? ·        How influencers are also a kind of affiliate program, in a way, and information about how one can get in contact with the right ones. ·        What is a recommended starting budget to gain traction with micro influencers if you are a small business? ·        Where can one go to become more educated on affiliate marketing.   Links: https://arlenrobinson.com   Connect with Arlen: Twitter: https://twitter.com/askarlen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arlen.robinson.7 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/arlenrobinson/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arlenyohance/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices